Upskilling for the Future – How SAP does it

SAP (a global software company based in Walldorf, Germany) digital-business-services (DBS) division, one of the main divisions in the company, with around 20,000 employees, began implementing a comprehensive workforce skills upgrade in 2017, to support shifts in its product portfolio toward more digital innovation and cloud products. The upgrade is a multiyear “learning strategy,” which includes a sequence of learning journeys featuring boot camps, shadowing senior colleagues, peer coaching, and digital learning. Many roles are changing, including those of engineers, who are moving from purely technical roles to providing advice to customers.

The company took a strategic planning approach to the task. It started by mapping the skills of all employees today and comparing that map with estimated future requirements and business plans. One year into the program, 4,700 employees have engaged globally in the transformational learning framework. A strategic hiring plan for priority roles and capabilities has also been initiated.